Table-topping Wolfsburg oust United in thriller

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has blasted Louis van Gaal’s transfer dealings after seeing his former club crash out of the Champions League.

Three-time victor Manchester United crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday, losing 3-2 to Wolfsburg which advanced to the round of 16 for the first time.

Their relegation to the Europa League was confirmed as Group B rivals PSV Eindhoven secured a 2-1 win over CSKA Moscow.

United were ranked as favourites when the group was announced but Van Gaal criticised the referee’s performance in their opening game against PSV, in which they suffered a 2-1 loss.

This was the first season in which the group stage had been introduced to the Champions League and it is fair to say that United were dealt a tough draw, with Barcelona and Galatasaray both included. “We didn’t score many goals before and in an away match you score two goals – maybe three but one was cancelled out”. So that’s my answer because I can only give facts. We’ve won all of our home games in the Champions League and you’ve got to do that if you want to go through – but this was not about atoning for what happened in the Bundesliga at the weekend [losing to Dortmund].

The Dutchman told BT Sport: “You can say that we were the favourites but we were a very tight group”.

Louis van Gaal is risking making himself look like a fool with some of his comments following Manchester United’s defeat to Wolfsburg.

Supporters of the increasingly embattled Van Gaal argue he has stabilized United after a period of upheaval following Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013 and David Moyes’ ill-fated 10-month tenure.

But the Dutch side hit back just two minutes later through Luuk de Jong and completed the turnaround with five minutes to play as Davy Propper earned the home side a 2-1 victory, ensuring they went through as runners-up behind Wolfsburg. We were not so lucky in a match today with the decisions of the referee, but also in the first match we were lucky with the decision of that referee.

Van Gaal spoke to reporters after the game during his post match conference.

It was a bitterly disappointing night but it shouldn’t be forgotten that two very inexperienced players did well in trying circumstances.

Anthony Martial’s first goal in over 11 hours of football and Josuha Guilavogui’s second-half own goal gave the English side hope but a Naldo double and Vieirinha’s 29th minute strike settled the match.

United were without seven senior players for the trip to Wolfsburg, with skipper Wayne Rooney the most notable absentee with an ankle injury.

“I haven’t thought about that [the Europa League] at this moment. It’s a pity but we have a lot to fight for – the FA Cup and the Premier League”. Of course, what’s he supposed to say on the night that the Red Devils crash out of the UEFA Champions League.

The goal, a thing of beauty, involved Andre Schurrle, Julian Draxler, Max Kruse and scorer Vieirinha, who finished off the sublime combination play with a simple tap-in.